SXSW 2021 Review: Introducing Selma Blair

Introducing, Selma Blair, directed by Rachel Fleit, is a deeply intimate and moving documentary that explores the actor’s battle with multiple sclerosis, and her decision to undergo a controversial and harrowing treatment for it.

Blair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August of 2018. MS is an autoimmune disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord. The film begins a year later at her Studio City home.  It is immediately clear that Selma is a force to be reckoned with. She is witty, brutally honest, and….dressing up like Norma Desmond for her interview. The seriousness of her disability is also immediately clear when Blair suddenly becomes barely able to speak after her emotional support dog jumps off her lap. MS symptoms vary person to person, but Selma later explains that anxiety and overstimulation makes hers much worse.

The first part of Introducing, Selma Blair focuses on Selma’s past, the discovery of her MS, and her day-to-day life.  Selma is mesmerizing to watch, largely due to her candid transparency, humor, and strength. The film certainly covers her fame as an actor (Blair is most known for Legally Blonde and Cruel Intentions) but doesn’t beat you over the head with it. In fact, Selma discusses being okay with always being the supporting actor, never the lead.  Later in the film she reveals that she never tried as hard to be a good actor as she could have.  Revelatory moments such as these are sprinkled throughout and add a lot to the film’s intimacy.

Selma had been experiencing symptoms of MS long before her diagnosis. Most notably extreme anxiety and dread (which she often numbed with alcohol) and a left leg that always seemed to drag behind. Many doctors just chalked it up to her stressful lifestyle.  But when her symptoms got extreme after the birth of her cherished son Arthur, it ultimately led to her startling diagnosis.  Selma described the diagnosis as a relief, because it a) meant she wasn’t crazy and b) would allow her to “take steps”.  Understandably, she was also terrified.

Selma talks, and frequently jokes, about how having MS has affected her life. Her perspective on it, her relationships, and of course her daily routine. One moment she can be playing dodgeball with her son or enjoying her hot tub, the next she can barely crawl up the stairs to spend the rest of the day in bed. The audience really gets to know Selma. Nothing feels forced or fake with her. The first part of Introducing, Selma Blair feels like chatting with an old friend, which makes the harrowing events that follow even harder to take. 

When Introducing, Selma Blair switches its focus to Selma’s controversial stem cell transplant treatment, the tone changes significantly. This is a procedure from which she may not recover, and Selma knows this. She reveals after day 2 of chemotherapy that she was asked to look into funerary arrangements beforehand….just in case. The process, as well as MS itself, is described in step-by-step detail. It is fascinating and educational.  Also, brutal. The film does not shy away from Selma’s suffering during treatment, it does just the opposite. It leans into it. It takes a strong person to let the world see them completely vulnerable, and that is why these scenes are so powerful. I found myself crying alongside Selma at moments but was ultimately more impressed with her strength than I was disturbed by her pain.

The procedure is successful, but not in the immediate way that Selma was hoping for. It is messy at times, inconclusive. This is real life after all.  There are complications. Regardless, she perseveres and becomes a celebrity activist for those suffering with MS. At the end of the film, her health has improved significantly, but there are still bad days. 

Introducing, Selma Blair is ultimately about Selma wanting to be a better person. Physically, spiritually, emotionally.  She ends up at peace, stating that that her biggest desire is to have made a contribution to those she lived with. After watching, I am positive she succeeded.

I am so grateful to have been introduced to Selma Blair. Fleit’s intimate look into Blair’s dynamic life is fascinating, educational, and inspiring. Somehow the film felt inconclusive, but that just added to its realism. Discovery + picked up the documentary prior to its debut at SXSW, and it’s easy to see why. Highly recommended.